Complicated
by evilestguyever
Summary: A story about the lingering past, the empty present, and the unknown future. A story about being left behind, about moving on. About life and the choices we make or don't make. Time and space get warped, people die, hearts get broken, life goes on.


**Disclaimer: **I do not own any part of Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift. All rights to this merchandise belong to Square Enix. I also make no profit, except perhaps in the form of good reviews, from this fanfic.

**Author's Note: **To avoid confusion, the main character, Luso, will retain his original name, Luso Clemens. Last names may be provided at some point for characters that lack them, but at the moment will not be mentioned. The clan name in the game is originally Clan Gully, but it just isn't cool enough, so the clan will be named Clan Blitzkrieg, after the way I played the game. Basically, hit hard, hit fast, and annihilate them. Some generic clan members that will be showing up more often and are therefore of interest are:

Mana: Assassin and Sniper

Noelle: Red Mage and Summoner

Aurelis: Master Monk and White Monk

Stern: Sage and Illusionist

I may add others at some point, and if I do, I will make a note of it in the beginning of the chapter, but for now this is it. Time-wise, I am assuming that Luso was about to begin his seventh grade summer before his first trip to Ivalice. I am also assuming that though Luso seemingly came back soon after traveling to Ivalice, even though he seemed to have stayed a period of several months there, that the ratio of Earth-time to Ivalice-time is one year on Earth to five in Ivalice. I've even come up with an explanation for it There will be some other minor assumptions, like the fact that there is coffee in Ivalice and things like that there is plumbing, etc.

Okay, aside from all the story related information, I want to tell you guys that I've never written a long fanfic, and so far, this one looks like it's going to turn out to be pretty long, so don't expect too much from me. Also, I like to use dialogue and thoughts, and the thoughts tend to come in first person, thought the story will be in third person, so I'm warning you all that it may get confusing. Lastly, some scenes from alternate POVs will overlap a little. I will try my best to indicate who's talking/thinking, but my best may not be good enough, so sorry. And sorry for the ridiculously long A/N.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1:<strong>

**Move Along**

**3****rd**** of Mistleaf, Year 2347**

"Lass? Lass? Lass!" A Revgaji with thick silvery brown hair reached over and shook a girl swathed in pink, but for a certain distinctive red cap and a crimson tear shaped jewel that hung from a chain around her neck. She had long, flowing silver hair, but her eyes were a vibrant, if dull, ochre, that betrayed her youth. At the moment, they were glazed over, like the eyes of one lost in thought.

"Wh- what!" She whirled around, nearly falling off of her stool, her silver locks whipping around and narrowly missing the Revgaji's face.

"Hurdy is asking for you. You know how he is. He's regaling yet another generation of young'uns with tales of our adventures."

"Oh. Ok. Um, Cid, where is he again?" She looked around distractedly, and her eyes lost focus for a second as she stared at the space to Cid's right.

"Where he always is, in that corner over by the bar," replied Cid, gesturing toward the far corner of the tavern, where the sounds of music and laughter could be heard, and a crowd of children sat.

"Ah, right." The girl stood up and nearly stumbled over a stool as she headed for the liveliest corner in the entire tavern. Several pairs of eyes followed her.

"That time of the year again?" remarked a Viera wrapped head to toe in black form fitting clothes as she leaned against the bar, stray silver locks peeking out from under her hood.

"Nooo, of course not. She's only wearing his hat as a fashion statement," quipped the third of their little group, another Viera. She wore a red dress topped off with a pointy red hat, which did nothing to hide her flowing silver locks.

"She still has it bad, doesn't she?"

"Aye, Mana. She's been like this ever since," replied Cid, shaking his head.

"Nah, it's only been what, ten years since she's been like this? Wait, didn't he leave ten years ago?" The Viera in red mock gasped.

"Aye, Noelle. Ten years since the lad went back, though it seems like it was just yesterday." Noelle rolled her eyes. It was apparent that Cid failed to notice the sarcasm.

"Hm, sounds like you miss him too," Mana teased.

"Hmph. I say good riddance. All our troubles came with him, and they left with him as well."

"Aw, Cid. There's no need to pretend anymore. Even the kids know that you're just a big softie," said Mana as she gave him a light push.

"Then perhaps you also remember that I am your elder, and I expect to be respected," said Cid with a mock growl.

"Yeah Cid, say what you want. We're not that young ourselves," Mana said as she draped an arm over Noelle.

"Riiight. I can feel old age creeping up on me," Noelle said sarcastically, shrugging Mana's arm off.

"No surprise there, Noelle. You're older than me!"

"No way! And here I thought you were the oldest in our merry little group."

"Ladies, it doesn't matter how old you are, for the men of Ivalice are still lining up outside our doors in hopes that they'll catch your fancy. As annoying as that is."

"Ah, eva the smooth talka," said a Bangaa in the garb of a Master Monk as he joined the merry group of three.

"Aurelis? Back so soon from that dispatch mission?"

"Aye, Mana. T'was but a simple mission. All I need'd to do was to rough up a stalka."

"Really? I bet he ran away screaming after seeing that scary mug of yours."

"Why don't I send ya runnin' away screamin', eh?" Aurelis growled, cracking his knuckles.

"Noelle's still sarcastic, Aurelis is still scary, and Cid, you're still old! Isn't it nice to see that some things don't change?"

"Aye, but that's not always a good thing." At Cid's comment, the four all turned to look pointedly at Adelle, who was now surrounded by kids who stared at her with rapt attention as she animatedly described one of her many fights, Hurdy accompanying her story with music.

"I see that we are all here," came a gravelly voice from behind them, prompting them all to turn back around.

"Stern! How are ya doin' these days? Still up to ya nose in books, eh? You Nu Mou, I'll never understand ya."

"All that research is tiring work. Those Moogles never let up, and time stops for no one."

"Aye, but come and join us, Stern. It's been a while since the lot of us has been together. Even Mana is here."

"Right," added Mana even as she gave Cid a "What's that supposed to mean?" look.

"Thank you." Stern pulled out a stool and sat right down, smoothing out his brown Sage's robe as he did so.

"Still as formal as ever, huh?"

"And you are still as pretty as ever, Mana."

"You're starting to sound like a lecherous old man," Mana laughed.

"I'm young enough to continue with my research," Stern replied, allowing for a small smile before continuing solemnly, "But there are other matters to discuss. Cid, why have you called me here? I presume that it's something important if you deemed it necessary to do so."

"Aye."

"Well of course it's important. In fact, I think that maybe it's very important, since it's a problem that's been around for oh; it can't be, say, ten years? So can we just get on with it now? Everyone's here and I'm not getting any younger."

"Alright, Noelle. So you all know why I've called you here?"

"Nooo, we don't. Would you care to enlighten us?"

"Noelle, lay off him 'lready. Not all of us know why Cid call'd. I don't."

"It's about Adelle, but Cid, in his old age, seems to forgotten to tell you."

"Mana… I give up."

"Ah, so the years are finally showin', eh? 'bout time you got wiser."

"Aurelis, leave the teasing to me. Only I'm allowed to poke and prod Cid."

"Would someone kindly steer us back towards the reason why we are all gathered here? I have research to carry out."

"That's Stern for you, grounding us again," Mana mock groaned before cocking her head in Adelle's general direction, "So, about Adelle. What are we going to do about her? Or should I say, what are you planning to do to her?"

Ignoring Mana's suggestive last sentence, Cid sighed and said, "The only thing I think we can do is to attempt to contact Lezaford."

"Perhaps we should. I have been meaning to visit him anyway. There are certain…issues with my research that I wish to discuss with him."

"Oh really? Pray tell what it could be about. Maybe we should be helping you research instead. Because you know, Adelle can wait. She's only been waiting for ten years, what's another day? Or month? Or year? Or even another decade?"

"Come now, Noelle, we all have our hobbies, but Stern, you will have to wait until after we sort out the matter with the lass."

"I understand."

"When are we goin' to see him?"

"The sooner the better. Seeing Adelle like that all the time is enough to make even me depressed."

"Aye. I agree with Mana. The sooner the better. I'll wager that if Lezaford could just tell the lass how the lad's been doing, she'll feel a lot better."

"It may be what she needs, but Cid, there is yet another possibility. It may, in fact, have something other than the intended effect."

"Always the logical one, aren't ya, Stern?"

"We always did need that cool head of yours," Mana sighed.

"And we never needed that sharp tongue of yours."

"Aw, Cid. You know that I'm the one that keeps things lively and fun around here."

"Used to be the lad's job, and I have to say, he didn't annoy me nearly as much."

"We were all pretty lively once," Aurelis said.

"Yeah, you're right," Mana sighed, the mischievous glint in her eyes betraying her serious tone, "You were lively enough for the lot of us."

"What are you guys talking about, kupo?"

"Oh! Hurdy! You have to tell me how you stay this cute after all these years."

"Thanks Mana, kupo, but I don't know how to help you, kupo. So what were you talking about, kupo?"

"You know." Mana glanced meaningfully at the corner where Adelle still sat surrounded by

children of all ages and races.

"I do, kupo?" Hurdy followed Mana's gaze. "Oh, kupo. I see, kupo. No matter what I do, kupo, she never looks any happier, kupo."

"It ain't yer fault. The past is like that. It can cling to ya and cause all sortsa trouble."

"Ah, so it's true. Age really _does _make you wiser."

"Whazzat suppos'd to mean?" Aurelis growled.

"Ooh, Aurelis is angry. Maybe Mana should just stop talking so he doesn't get any angrier. Or maybe we should just ignore the kids and oh, I don't know, get back to the point," Noelle finished, and everyone suddenly quieted down when they caught the slightly pissed off tone. They all knew that making Noelle angry was not the best way to go if you wanted to live a long and healthy life.

"Sorry Aurelis, couldn't help myself."

"It's a'right Mana. I should apologize for gettin' ril'd up."

XXXXXXX

Adelle didn't have to look behind her to know that the entire party was here, or what they were talking about. It was obvious. As of late, all of their conversations and get-togethers have been about her. About how she's been acting. And don't get her wrong, she was happy that they worried about her, but it still annoyed the living daylights out of her. She may look 15, but she was already 23, and definitely old enough to take care of herself. It's not like Cid or any of the others would be able to help either. In fact, sometimes, it was better when they weren't around. Nobody to remind her of the past, nobody to remind her that years have flown by, but she was the only one to appear nearly unchanged. Nobody to remind her that the one that understood her best was gone, and was probably never coming back.

"Then what happened? Did you guys win? Did the giant monster die?" The squeals of excitement from the children interrupted her reverie.

"Sorry kids, but I'm not telling. You're going to have to wait until next time, ok?"

"Aw! But Miss Adelle! That's so mean! That's what you tell us every time! You never finish a story the same day you tell it to us," the kids chorused, a few of them pouting and crossing their arms. Adelle couldn't help but smile.

"But doesn't this make it more exciting? Now you get to imagine what'll happen before I tell you."

"Nuh-uh. We wanna know the ending!"

Adelle stuck out her tongue, "You'll have to wait. My friends are all here, so I have to go now."

"We don't like you anymore."

"I know," Adelle said, her smile growing wider. As she turned to leave, however, she suddenly found herself surrounded by the kids again.

"We were just kidding. Please keep telling us stories Miss Adelle."

"Alright," Adelle replied with a smile, ruffling the kids' hair, "But I really have to go now. If I don't I'm going to run out of stories to tell. We wouldn't want that, would we?"

"No," the kids replied in unison, shaking their little heads solemnly.

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye Miss Adelle! See you tomorrow!"

With one last parting wave, Adelle headed for the bar where Cid and the others were gathered. She could make out Aurelis' towering form, as well as the lithe form of Mana , the pointed red hat that indicated Noelle's presence, and the diminutive form of Hurdy, who, just moments ago, was by her side. The only one who was missing was Stern, but he never did tear himself away from his research. As if on a cue, Aurelis turned to growl at Mana, and Adelle caught a glimpse of Stern, who was lost in thought as he sat on the bar stool. They were all here. Not most of them; all of them. Cid was planning something. Adelle may have discarded the nickname "Adelle the Cat", but she had in no way lost her touch. Furtively walking towards the conspiring group, she looked for the perfect spot to hide and eavesdrop on their conversation, finally settling for a shadowed spot in the corner.

XXXXXXX

"Oh no, no need to apologize, Aurelis. In fact, no need to say anything thing at all. If you and Mana could please control yourselves and refrain from arguing for, oh, five, maybe ten minutes, Cid and the rest of us grownups could finish talking about the important stuff. Then you guys could go at each other all you want, ok?"

"Noelle, leave them be. You know how they are. More importantly: Lezaford. He's the only one who can help, but the he never leaves his home in the Aldanna Range, so we have to go to him. Can you think of any way to convince the lass to come with us? I'm afraid that she'll avoid him like she has in the past."

"She probably will, seeing as she's thrown every mission involvin' the entire Aldanna Range to us."

"Why thank you for that insight, Aurelis. Care to state anything else obvious?"

"Noelle," Cid warned. She immediately backed off. As dangerous as it was to get Noelle angry, getting Cid angry was a thousand times worse. "So how do you propose we convince Adelle?"

"Maybe we do not have to," Stern suddenly spoke up.

XXXXXXX

Lezaford. Do they really think that will work? That talking to Lezaford will make me feel better? It won't. Don't they know that I've already tried? Tried so so many times to ask. Every time I visit him to ask him about my powers as a Gifted One, I want to ask. To ask how he's doing. Does he remember us? Does he want to come back? Does he miss us? Has he moved on? Gotten a girlfriend? Gotten married? Started a family? It's been ten years now. If I were to suddenly show up, would he welcome me? If he did, what would I say? What would he say? Will we still be able to laugh and talk like we did before? Or has too much time gone by? Do I even have the right to ask?

Every time Adelle went to see Lezaford, she felt the questions threatening to roll off her tongue in a never ending stream, and every time she opened her mouth to ask, some small part of her would make her end up biting her own tongue instead, keeping the questions bottled inside. She didn't know why it happened, but it did. It's not that she didn't want to ask, it's that she couldn't. Couldn't interfere after he had finally gotten back home. Couldn't after she had finally convinced herself to move on. Couldn't because she was afraid that there'd be no answer, and no hope along with it. And as time went by, it felt like her opportunities to ask Lezaford diminished, while her questions only grew in number.

But maybe, just maybe…

It's been ten years. Maybe it's time that she should ask, ask and get it over with. Ask and move on with her life. If there are no answers, so be it. If there are, well, it's been ten years, and he has his own life to live, and she had hers.

Resolving to finally ask Lezaford even just a miniscule fraction of all the questions that had accumulated over the years, Adelle made her way out of the shadows and into the light once more.

XXXXXXX

"Convince me to do what?" All heads turned to the newcomer.

"The kids finally let ya go, Adelle?"

"Yeah. So, Cid, convince me to do what?"

"Well, you see…" Cid began, glancing at the faces of the rest of the conspirators for help. None came. "Well, there's this quest, you see, to hunt a horde of rampaging wyrms. It might take the lot of us to finish them off, and we were wondering how to convince you to come with us." Noelle rolled her eyes at the flimsy excuse, resolving to jump in and help Cid out, just as Adelle spoke.

"Why do you think I'll need convincing?" Adelle knew what they had planned, and Cid's lie was a weak one. But she opted to play along. She had resolved to ask Lezaford, and she couldn't see how letting her friends (not that she ever admitted to them that they were such) think they had helped her would be a bad thing.

"Well, uh, because it, uh…"

"It's in the Aldanna Range," Noelle stated bluntly. Adelle was going to find out one way or another, and Noelle always liked straightforwardness. On the other hand, Cid held his breath, hoping that Adelle wouldn't ask too much. The lass needed Lezaford's help. For several years after Luso's departure, Adelle was livelier than ever, and she much more open, but then, on the fifth anniversary of Luso's departure, she suddenly clammed up. It was like someone suddenly opened a door, and a gust of wind nearly blew the fire out. All at once, she suddenly started going on solo missions again. Two years later, when even shopping for the latest fashionable items did nothing to interest her, Cid and the original Clan Blitzkrieg knew something was really wrong with her. Aurelis and Mana had been the first to express their sentiments on the situation, and tried everything to bring Adelle back into the fold, but Adelle seemed to prefer staring off into space for hours while nursing one cup of anything. What was on her mind became perfectly clear to all those who had doubts when, a year after she lost interest in shopping, Adelle started wearing the Crimson Tear around her neck. Luso had given it to her before he left, but she had never worn it before. It's been another two years, and she's only grown more distant, the only time she even slightly resembled her old self was when she helped Hurdy tell stories about their past adventures against Illua and Khamja. Needless to say, the situation had become desperate, and desperate times called for desperate measures.

"Okay. Why not? I haven't been there in awhile. So when are we going to do it?" Adelle could see the looks of confusion on their faces, as well as the moment when, right after they recovered, they glanced at each other knowingly, like conspirators whose plan was right on schedule. Pretending not to have noticed, Adelle waited for a reply.

"As soon as possible. When are you free, Stern?"

"At the moment, I am on leave, but I must return to my research in a ten-day."

"I'm free wheneva, or at least 'til I get anotha mission."

"Same as Aurelis."

"Noelle?"

"Anytime."

"Adelle?"

"I'm fine with anytime as well. But sooner would be better, right? How about tomorrow, before the wyrms manage to do any more damage?" Cid couldn't believe his luck.

"Great. That's fine with everyone, isn't it?" Cid glared at the others, challenging them to defy him and his plan. Of course, none protested, because they all wanted to help Adelle as well.

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><p>So, Chapter 1 is done. I will probably revise this and upload it again in the near future, but at the moment, as an almost Senior, college apps take precedence. Or at least, they should. Review please, so my revisingediting will be faster (and my life will be easier). And someone please help with slang. I'm pretty sure Aurelis (and I) butchered the slang. Oh, and am I lacking detail where it matters? Or do I have too much dialogue or such? Was it too confusing? PLEASE REVIEW. Just think, you have the evilestguyever at your feet, begging for a review. Don't you feel powerful and giving?


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